Phogat claimed he was being discriminated against because he was from the ABVP.
Around 200 students, teachers and alumni of Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) Saturday held a silent protest against the “delay in strict action” against a student, who had allegedly assaulted a faculty member a fortnight ago. The student was accused of assaulting the teacher for allegedly failing him in his exams. An FIR was also registered in the matter. The incident took place on July 14 when Pradeep Phogat — a student of Global Business Operations (GBO) — had allegedly kicked and slapped assistant professor Ashwani Kumar in the college parking lot, accusing him of “ruining his future”. Phogat claimed he was being discriminated against because he was from the ABVP. However, the principal claimed Phogat didn’t attend a single class, and had failed in all his exams. The ABVP had claimed he was not a member.
Anmol Riswan, a student and one of the organisers, said, “… We demand that the culprit be barred from taking any exam, and banned from college and the campus.”
Kumar, who had been silent so far, said the assault was unprovoked and he was “shocked” by the incident. “Police have not approached me or the college even 14 days after the incident… At the college level, the disciplinary committee is looking into the matter. Let’s see what they decide,” Kumar claimed.
Sanjaya Bohidar, a faculty member, alleged, “Last year, the then DUSU president had also assaulted an SRCC teacher on campus over the use of the swimming pool. Then, too, no action was taken… It’s a dangerous situation for an academic institution, if such behaviour is encouraged.”
However, Principal R P Rustagi said, “The matter has to be reported to the Disciplinary Committee. But in the last two weeks, two convenors of the committee resigned, leading to the delay. On Friday, we appointed a new convenor and handed over the matter to him. We will try to complete the process within 7-10 days…,” he said.
